


Maybe family isn't so bad?

by imapanmess



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Bee Toby Smith | Tubbo, Found Family, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hybrid AU, Hybrids, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pig Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Raccoon Hybrid TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Raccoon TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Raccooninnit, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Sleepy Boys Inc - Freeform, half of them have wings, i just love raccooninnit okay, idk why, is this a wingfic?, no beta we die like george in manhunt, phils an owl, sbi, this is all platonic btw, wilburs a pigeon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29162337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imapanmess/pseuds/imapanmess
Summary: Tommy is a raccoon hybrid. He's been living alone in the woods his whole life. Things might change when he gets injured and is rescued by a family.rated teen cus swearing and some topics surrounding discrimination
Comments: 22
Kudos: 413





	1. Berries and Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW - blood , arrows , this world is based on a lot of discrimination so please be careful!

“Finally” tommy muttered as he grabbed a handful of the red berries in front of him and shoved them in his pocket.

He had been searching for quite a while. Winter really wasn’t a great time for food. Plants where dead and animals were hidden and hibernating. He couldn’t enter the village at this time. It was too suspicious. There had been way too many officers walking around since the recent ‘infestation of hybrids’ as the humans called it. Tommy despised the humans for it. It was one fucking hybrid. A rabbit hybrid for god’s sake. The rabbit would have done less harm then Tommy could have done when injured and he was only a raccoon. Humans were stupid but it’s best not to dwell on it. The more you think about it the more you want revenge and that is a horrible idea. Revenge has never worked and probably never will.

Tommy grabbed a few more berries making sure to leave some so that if another animal or hybrid walked by they didn’t have to starve. He had learned pretty early on not to mess with the food chain. If he ate too many plants there would be none left for the small animals meaning he couldn’t eat the small animals or the plants. Pretty simple really but I guess being a 7 year old chucked in the wild with limited education he hadn’t really learnt much about how to save food. 9 years later and he had taught himself so much more. 

He didn’t really know much about normal life. He knew how to speak but his vocabulary was limited and having not spoken much he wasn’t great. He knew a lot of slang off the streets from back when his hybrid first emerged and he could hide in the back alleyways with the other poor kids. Once his hybrid became more obvious he had had to run and hide. He could read at the level of a 2nd grader which wasn’t surprising seen as that was when he left school but he had stolen a few kids books before and he knew some basic human stuff like the rooms in a house and what meals to eat when. Not that it was much help to him living in the wild but maybe he’d eventually be able to hide his stupid tail and live in a city. Realistically his tail wasn’t his main problem his fangs were a lot harder to hide but in Tommy’s mind everyone had fangs. He didn’t know any better. Tommy had a lot of misconceptions about humans but no one was there to tell him any different.

Making sure that he had put the berries in the pocket without the hole he set off towards the river. He had to clean the berries first. He might be part raccoon but he’s not trying to get himself ill. It was much quicker and quieter to climb across in the trees so that’s what he did. Tommy quickly scurried up the closest tree with perfect precision.

He’d been in the forest for quite a while and knew this area like the back of his hand. He had had to adventure a bit further out to find these berries but he was still certain on where he was. Getting lost was not fun so Tommy never ventured far from where he was stationed.

He kept walking across the trees weaving his way in and out of the branches absentmindedly. He would occasionally stop to check his pockets or check his surroundings but this was the same routine he went through almost every day. Even before he had come to this forest it was the same routine. When the sun was about 3/5 of the way across the sky, which realistically was around 2-3pm, he would go looking for food. He would look for food until he had enough to sustain himself for tomorrow and the rest of the day. Then when he saw the sun go down he would sleep. He would mostly entertain himself by chasing squirrels and seeing how far he could throw certain objects. Tommy had a very high metabolism and didn’t really need much food so he never had to search for too long. Today was probably one of the longer days. Tommy didn’t mind though, it kept his mind off of how shitty the world was and his own bottled up emotions. Being alone for 9 years isn’t exactly fun.

After a few more minutes of climbing across the trees Tommy spotted the river. It wasn’t a great river. It was actually quite small which made it a lot easier to get caught but it was cleaner than a lot of the rivers he’d used before so that was a plus.

He jumped down from the tree he was on making sure not to land on any branches it was getting late now and he didn’t want to alert any bigger animals or any humans that might have decided to go for an evening walk. Tommy didn’t understand why someone as vulnerable as a human would go for a walk at this time but who knew what went through humans brains. Tommy thought humans were pretty dumb.

Tommy didn’t know why he removed himself from the label of human so much. He was technically human after all. He didn’t know whether maybe he was half human and half raccoon or if there was some kind of hybrid gene that manifests itself or something else entirely. He didn’t really care. All he knew was that he wasn’t a human. He didn’t discriminate. He wasn’t as rude as humans and he definitely wasn’t as vulnerable as them. Tommy had decided long ago that he hated humans and he sure as hell wasn’t going to become the thing he hated.

He crossed over to the river and knelt down at the bank. He dusted some of the dirt off his hands and grabbed the some of the berries from his pocket. He then dunked his hands into the water and began washing them. The water felt so good on his hands. He realised he probably should have cleaned his hands before touching the berries but oh well. He could get two jobs done at once now. Once he thought they were clean he picked one up and popped it into his mouth. God that was good. He had done more scavenging than normal and he was much more hungry than normal. He was pretty used to being kind of hungry though. He picked up a few more and placed them into his mouth savouring the taste. Food was struggling right now and he might have to go a few days hungry. As he went to pick up another berry he heard a noise.

His tail straightened and he instinctively hissed looking around for the sound. It sounded like someone stood on a twig. It was too heavy to be an animal. Shit. He had to run.

Before he could do anything He felt a sharp pain in the back of his left shoulder. He doubled over and clutched his shoulder. That was a mistake. Someone had shot an arrow into his back. He could still feel it in him.

He ran. He ran to the left. Where the fuck should he go? His instincts screamed at him to keep running but the humans would be able to shoot him on foot. The trees. He’d seen humans try to climb up trees and it was abysmal. He had found it so funny and almost got caught trying to stifle his laughter. Pretty handy information to know now.

He jumped as far as he could up into the tree using his tail to grab a higher branch and swing up and up. His shoulder seared with pain. He can’t keep using this arm. He got as high as he could and sat still for a minute.

He had to do something about his shoulder. But he really didn’t know what to do. Should he pull it out? That would be good right? Wrong. He reached his hand round and braced himself as he yanked it. Fuck. He hissed loudly in pain digging his fangs into his lip trying not to scream. He let go almost immediately. He managed to rip most of the wood from the arrow out but the metal bit was still lodged in there.

He was too loud. He could hear the humans bustling and shouting getting closer. They were pretty stupid if you asked tommy. Why would you be so loud when looking for prey? I mean do they think I’m deaf? Tommy kept jumping across the branches using his tail for extra support since his arm was out of commission. He could feel the blood dripping from his shoulder wound and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep going.

“There he is!” A loud burly voice shouted.

Shit. Go go go. Fuck. Why did he stop here? That’s a big jump to do without a running start. Well no time like the present. Tommy leaned back and jumped. At the same time one of the humans shot their bow. It landed directly in the back of Tommy’s right leg. Tommy slipped.

Thank god for his fangs. Tommy had instinctively sunk his teeth into the branch in front of him. He had to get as far away as quickly as possible. With his good arm and leg he yanked his teeth out of the wood and up. Up was the best way to go.

He climbed up and up and up as far as he could, desperately ignoring the horrible pain in his limbs. He went even further up, trying not to get his leg caught on anything. He was high. He had to be high enough. He couldn’t even see the ground. They couldn’t be able to see him. He positioned himself in the branches resting his leg up on a branch. He must have snagged the wound as the arrow was still in there but blood had started to drip out. Fuck. He was losing too much blood. His head was light. He’d used way too much energy getting up here. He had to stay awake. At least until the hunters had gone. He could get himself some herbs for healing if he could stay alive long enough for the hunters to leave.

He managed to stay awake for another half an hour. He was pretty sure the hunters had gone but he wasn’t 100% sure. His mind had gotten super foggy from the blood loss and he ended up falling asleep not really knowing where he was or what he was doing. He hoped falling asleep would clear his mind and help him figure out what to do to his wounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support! 
> 
> Idk how long this is gonna be i have an idea for chapter two but uno
> 
> also title is subject to change i made it in 3 seconds when i realised i needed one


	2. Trust and Tubbo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy finds himself in a new place. Why is he here? Can he trust these people?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW - there's a few mentions of Tommy's injuries from before nothing worse than the previous chapter :) slight mention of 'hybrid' trafficing 
> 
> Hope you enjoy please be careful!

Tommy woke feeling groggy. He could feel the light through without his eyes and he really didn't want to wake up. Wait. Why were the trees so soft? Tommy shuffled a little bit. What the fuck. That's not a tree. This can’t even be in a forest. Where the fuck was he? He definitely fell asleep in the trees. Didn't he? His memory was super foggy from where he fell asleep. His legs still propped up on- Fuck his leg. And his shoulder. He shuffled a tiny bit to see if the pain was still there. It definitely hurt but nowhere near the pain he felt yesterday. He supposed the wounds might have healed overnight. That was a little weird though. He’d had minor injuries before and even they didn't heal that fast. Even if they had stopped bleeding or healed over the night the parts of the arrows were still in there. He had to check where he was. 

His shuffling didn't seem to have alerted anyone but they could have thought he was just moving in his sleep. He had to do something. Very slowly Tommy half opened his eyes taking a quick look around. He was on a bed? His head was propped up and his feet dangled off the end. Tommy wasn't entirely sure on what anything around him was but he had a few guesses. He was in a fairly small room. There was a large wooden case? It had some seemingly floating clothes inside it. Tommy wasn't gonna question it. Humans were weird. Well he assumed he was in a human's house. He doubted a hybrid would have kidnapped him. There was a shelf in the corner with some random bottles and books on it. 

Tommy really had to get out of here. Who knew what these humans were planning to do with him. How did they find him in the first place? It probably wasn't the hunters; they seemed pretty set on killing him. He supposed these humans could be nicer. They seemed to have put his leg in a splint and bandaged his shoulder but they could just be trying to fix him up to sell him.

He could move pretty well now that the burning pain of the arrows had subsided. He didn't know who was in the house though so he had to be extremely quiet. He slid his injured leg out of its sling and found that it hurt more than he thought now that it was not fully supported. He could still walk on it though and the splint was still secure. He swung his legs over and on to the floor. He hated having to move so slowly but it was necessary if he wanted to keep his leg stable and moveable. He leaped up and landed on the floor gracefully. _Creak._ Shit. Why did the floors have to be so loud? Tommy could hear a few voices from underneath him start to stir. They were getting louder. 

Fuck. There was nowhere to hide in the stupid room. All he could think about was going up like he was in the forest. Get the high ground. So that's what he did. Even with a leg in a splint he could jump pretty high. Tommy crouched down by the wardrobe or the wooden case as he called it and jumped using his tail for extra support. Tommy was pretty tall so it really wasn't very difficult. He managed to get his good leg up there. The wardrobe wasn't very sturdy but it could just about hold Tommy’s weight. After manoeuvring his hurt leg into a somewhat comfortable position he heard a metal sound and the door swung open. 

Through the door entered what looked like an old man in a long black cloak which covered most of him. Tommy, being a raccoon, had a minor form of colour deficiency and his eyes were immediately drawn to the green on this man's hat. He wondered if he could jump, grab the hat and run. Probably not but it was an intriguing idea.

“Hello..?” The man asked 

“Are you still in here? I know you're probably scared but I’m not gonna hurt you!” He called out looking around the room.

Tommy did not trust him. He’d learnt to stop trusting humans a long time ago. They only ever wanted to kill or harm you. The man did seem genuinely worried though. He’s probably just good at acting. Don't fall for it. It was dark up here the man shouldn't be able to see him. Stay quiet.

“Oh! Haha… there you are! Would you come down please? I promise I’m not gonna hurt you” He said with a chuckle.

Tommy hissed and retracted as far as he could against the wall. He should be able to dart out and behind the man. As Long as his leg didn’t give out he was fine. His shoulder was starting to hurt a lot more being hunched in this corner but that was fine his legs were much more important.

“Look if you don't come down from the wardrobe and get back into bed I'm gonna have to pull you down and I really don’t wanna do that” He exclaimed motioning with his hands.

“Why would i do anything for you? You can't catch me, Human bitch.” Tommy spat getting ready to pounce. His voice was rough and croaky having not used his vocal chords properly in a long time.

To Tommy's surprise the man burst out laughing. Tommy was utterly confused. He hissed loudly trying to figure out why the fuck this man was laughing. 

“Sorry...Sorry...I just...You think I'm human?” The man said between chuckles.

Even more to Tommy's surprise, from behind the man a large pair or grey feathered wings started to expand. The wings spanned across almost the entire room and as much as he denied Tommy was intimidated. That was not what he had expected at all. I mean a bird? How had he never been caught? Wings were not easy to hide. 

“H-how? Who? What?” Tommy gawked, his mind thoroughly bewildered.

“My name's Phil, I'm a grey owl hybrid” Phil supplied with a soft comforting laugh. 

Tommy swivelled his legs round and let them hang there looking at Phil. He’s not human so he can trust Phil right? Phil did kidnap him but he is an owl. On the chain of Hybrids owls were very high up there especially when compared to a raccoon like tommy. Phil could kill Tommy pretty easily but he still had the advantage of being skinny and quick. Still that was pretty dangerous. 

“Tommy. Raccoon” He said hesitantly, jumping down from the wardrobe. 

“Oh my god please be careful you’re gonna hurt your leg even more!” Phil exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air

“I’m fine!” Tommy retorted.

His leg actually really hurt but he couldn't let Phil know that he was vulnerable. Tommy swiftly got back onto the bed. Eliciting a sigh of relief from Phil.

“You’ve probably got a lot of questions so I’ll let you talk and I’ll answer them as best i can” Phil announced putting Tommy’s leg back in the sling and fixing his splint.

“Okay. How did I get here? Where the fuck am I? And what do you want with me?” Tommy asked slowly, his voice scratchy and hurting.

“Your voice sounds bad, have some water. Were currently on the outskirts of town, The other day I heard a few people a street down talking about how they’d shot a hybrid but didn't manage to catch him, owl hearing is handy sometimes, I couldn't just leave you there to die so me and two of my sons went to find you, You must have fallen out of a tree or something cus you were passed out directly on the floor um.. Yeah we brought you back and one of my sons fixed up your shoulder and leg, you've been asleep for a few days now… Are you okay? You look a little lost? I can repeat something if you're confused” Phil responded, giving Tommy a quizzical look.

During Phil’s speech he had retracted his wings and given Tommy a glass of water. Tommy however had no idea how to drink it. He had been listening for the most part but why the fuck was their water in the plastic and how the fuck did you put in your mouth.

“Oh...uh...how do i?” Tommy muttered pointing at his cup.

“Oh Jesus, how long have you been in the wild? Just put it to your bottom lip and tip it up” Phil explained with a look of pity.

Tommy did what Phil said and found that it worked very well. Tommy was just gonna shove the cup in his mouth. The water tasted amazing, Tommy had never had water so clean. He was so used to the dirty river water that this new water made his throat feel like heaven. Was this even water? Phil said it was? Maybe the plastic is what made it feel nice who knows. Tommy downed all the water in one swoop.

“Thanks I’ve been in the wild for Uhh...” 

Tommy looked down at his hands and started to count on his fingers. He was never particularly good with numbers and having not used them for multiple years he was a bit rusty. He had always tried to keep a rough estimate of how old he was. He knew that when he turned 18 he might be able to live a normal life but as a kid he just be thrown in some home.

“9 years...i think”

“9 years jesus dude how old are you?”

“Uhh... i was kicked out at 7 so add 9 and uh… 16”

“Sixteen! You’re a fucking child!” Phil remarked raising his voice slightly

“Uhh...yeahhh” tommy mumbled holding back a hiss.

“Sorry...you're just really tall. My youngest son is the same age and I’d hate to think of him having to be alone for so long.”

“Oh...uh I’ve never met someone my age” Tommy croaked his voice getting quieter the more he used it.

In actual fact Tommy hadn’t spoken to anyone in years. 

“Oh...tell you what I'm gonna go downstairs and get you some more water. I'll send my son's up and you can talk to them!” Phil announced getting up and walking out of the room.

“Uhh…you didn't answer my last question. What do you want with me?”

“Oh...I just wanna make sure you're safe. You can stay for a while if you like. Just trust me! I’ll get Techno first; he needs to check your leg!”

He wondered if Phil’s sons were hybrids or if they were human. He’d never really seen another hybrid either. He tried to stay alone so as to not draw attention to himself. He wondered if they looked anything like him. Were they all winged? He hoped not. He wanted to meet another raccoon hybrid but he doubted any of them were raccoons. He sat there for a minute or two alone trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

“Hello” said a deep monotone voice.

“Hello” tommy replied back 

“Let’s see how your leg’s doing shall we? Your shoulder should be alright now but Phil said that you'd been doing some gymnastics so I’ll have another look at it first”

Tommy had no idea what ‘gymnastics’ were but he nodded anyway.

“Who are you?” Tommy asked while techno was beginning to unwrap the bandages on his shoulder. 

“My name’s Technoblade, I'm a pig hybrid if you couldn't tell by the ears, the fangs and the tail. The more important question is who are you?”

“I’m Tommy...Raccoon.”

“Raccoon huh? Makes sense. Your shoulder seems alright. Just keep it still for a few hours. Now to check your leg. This might hurt. I don't think the arrow did too much damage but the fall did a lot. It's definitely fractured.”

“Fractur- what?”

“There's a crack in your bone but nothings actually broken apart”

“Oh...Thanks. Is that bad?”

“You’ll be fine. Could be a lot worse. Can I ask you some questions? I’ve never met a raccoon hybrid who hasn't tried to attack me”

“Uh...okay” 

“Thanks. Don’t answer if you don't want to. When did your hybrid first start appearing?”

“Uhh... i was 7”

“Pretty average. Most people’s start appearing between 6-8. I’ve met quite a few raccoon hybrids and they’ve all been quite aggressive or angry. Is that a raccoon thing?”

“Uh...yeah I think so when I’m ill or think someone’s gonna attack or hurt me I like to attack and appear angry to show them whose boss. I might’ve called your dad a bitch early cus i thought he was a human”

“Bruhhh Phil would never hurt a fly. Sorry this is gonna hurt”

Tommy hissed loudly as techno turned his leg to get a better look at it.

“Well we know you can hiss huh? Your leg looks pretty good I’m gonna redo the bandages and the splint but I’ll get Wilbur in here so you’re not sat in silence”

“Okay”

“WILBUR” techno shouted as he went over to the shelves and grabbed a few things.

“Hellooooooo” Wilbur sang as he came into the room. 

Tommy recoiled a little bit. He was fucking loud and speaking weirdly. And his wings were fully out. Phil said they were still in town. Did he want to get caught?

“Tommy… please try and stay still i don’t wanna mess this up” Techno called, having moved to his leg and starting to reapply the bandages.

Tommy huffed and crossed his arms.

“Tommy! Nice name! I’m Wilbur! I'm a pigeon hybrid obviously!” Wilbur said sticking his hand out.

“Raccoon.” Tommy said, staring weirdly at the other man's hand.

What was he doing with his hand? This was weird. Was he supposed to do something? He didn’t and eventually Wilbur pulled his hand away.

“Well...tell me about yourself!”

“Uh...okay my names tommy, I’m 16, I’ve been alone for the past 9 years since i was kicked out at 7 for being a hybrid yeah that’s all I’ve just been moving from different forests around the place”

“You’ve been alone for 9 years? jesus christ could make some pretty good songs out of it though” 

“Wilbur do not make any songs out of Tommy’s life for god’s sake he’s a child” Techno muttered slapping Wilbur on the arm. 

“Fine...fine...I’m gonna go get Tubbo. Are you coming techno?” 

“Yeah yeah I’m finished with his leg now”

Tommy hadn’t even realised techno had finished with his leg; he had been too distracted by Wilbur’s flamboyant behaviour and facial expressions. He’s never met someone so… loud. Tommy hated being stuck like this; he wanted to go climb in the trees and chase something. Tommy had always been more in tune with his raccoon side and being cooped up with his arm and leg stuck in one position really wasn’t doing it for him. He just needed to fiddle with something or do something with his hands. He had started to drum his hands on his leg when he heard the door creak again. A small boy was standing there with the same small glass he had drunk out of earlier. 

“Hi! I have your water!” the small boy squeaked, walking further into the room.

As the boy walked further into the light Tommy spotted his wings. They were different from anything he had ever seen before. The wings were split into four sections although they were still touching, different from a butterfly, they were transparent, almost translucent and had veins running through them. Tommy also noted that there were little bumps on the boy's forehead. Must be an insect. Tommy hadn’t even realised he was staring at the boys wings until the boy reached out to give him his water.

“Oh...thanks.” Tommy mumbled while taking the cup. 

He downed the water the same way as before. The cup was much fuller this time and Tommy accidentally spilt some water in his shirt. Luckily he didn’t think the boy noticed.

“My names Tubbo!” 

“Tommy. I like your wings!”

“Thanks! I’m a bee hybrid! You?”

“Raccoon. Pretty boring compared to a bee. I didn't even know you still existed. At school they told me most of the insect hybrids were gone. That was a few years ago though”

“Oh...yeah there's still a few of us around, it's pretty difficult to hide with the wings, most birds can fold there’s down i can't so… Raccoon is super cool though! Dad said we're the same age!”

“Oh yeah! I've never met someone my age before…been in the wild a long time”

“Never..? Wow I have so much to tell you! You must be so strong! Dad says living in the wild is hard!”

Tommy smiled. He really liked Tubbo. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because he spoke normally. Maybe it's because Tubbo didn’t pity Tommy or because Tubbo seemed to think Tommy was strong. He didn’t care; all Tommy knew was that he was going to be friends with this boy. He was trustworthy. This whole situation was weird. Really weird but Tommy thought he could trust them. This’ll be fine. Won’t it? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the support last chapter!
> 
> this is like almost 3k words lmao and i wrote it entirely during school 
> 
> This is also alot of dialoge so sorry but i needed to do inroductions lol
> 
> I dont really know where im going with this but well see lmao
> 
> shameless self plug : follow my twitter @boo_haydxn
> 
> Also chapter 3 might take a little longer to get our cus i have like 0 idea what im doing im making it up on the spot 
> 
> Comments + kudos are appreciated!


	3. Steak and Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Tommys day at the house. He has steak , goes in the snow and is sung a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support. This is just wilbur/tommy bonding moments :) /p
> 
> CW/TW - Tommy gets a bit panicky at the end but its really not that bad , food , very very brief reference to child abandonment (i think thats all , let me know if any others are needed) 
> 
> Take care of yourself!

Tommy and Tubbo had a pretty good conversation. Tommy's throat hurt so it was pretty one sided but Tommy didn't mind. It was nice not to be worrying about your own survival for once in his life. Obviously he was still wary of them all but he figured he was safe enough in this room. Could climb out the window if he had too. Tubbo had said that Phil had lived in a few places before moving here. Tubbo had been found by Phil when he was only 4 years old. Apparently bee hybrids start growing wings at an early age and Tubbo had been left in a cardboard box on the side of a road. They’d lived in this town for 10 years now. Tommy wondered what it was like to be in the same place for so long. He’d moved around a lot trying not to get caught and never really felt any attachment to the places he stayed. Tubbo was babbling about when he first met Wilbur when Phil interrupted them. 

“I'm sure you boys are having lots of fun but dinner’s gonna be ready soon and I'm sure Tommy wants to get up and change first” Phil said shooing Tubbo out of the room. 

“Okay...I’m leavingggg Tommy can sit next to me!” Tubbo announced walking down the stairs.

“You boys sure get along well! Anyways I have some of Wilbur's Clothes for you, Techno has some spare clothes in the wardrobe but I didn't know what fit you best so i have both”

“Thanks” Tommy muttered, slipping his leg out of the sling and taking the pile of clothes.

“I’ll leave now but come down when you're ready!” Phil exclaimed, closing the door.

Tommy stood up and shuffled through the clothes Phil had given him. He picked up a pair of light brown combat trousers he thought would fit him but the shirts were all too big. Phil had said there were clothes in the wardrobe. Tommy assumed that was the big wooden case. He pulled out a few shirt-looking things but found that they were not normal t-shirts, more like capes, and threw them onto the floor immediately. He didn't know what half the stuff in there was and had almost given up looking when he found a white short sleeved shirt with red shoulders. After a few confused minutes of trying to get the shirt off the hanger, he quickly undressed and slid into the clothes he'd picked out. The Trousers fit surprisingly well. They were a bit loose but due to Tommy's skinny size but they stayed up pretty well. The shirt fit perfectly around his torso, the arm holes were a little too big but that was nothing to worry about. He grabbed his combat boots that had been placed in the corner and shoved them on. It was a little uncomfortable over his splint but he didn’t care. He’d rather wear shoes than walk around barefoot. There were so many things he could step on.

Sceptically, Tommy walked out of the room he had been confined in. He had to make sure that this place was safe. Even if it was safe he couldn't stay. Maybe he could find some stuff to nick. God he hated these floors. They made so much noise. Phil would know he was out of his room now he couldn't lurk for long. Tommy noted the layout of the upstairs. His room was across from the stairs. To the right, according to the big red sign, was techno _(and Wilbur’s)_ room. To the left there were two rooms. The room closest to where Tommy was staying was covered in doodles of bees and insects. He assumed this was Tubbo’s. The next room had the door tilted open and Tommy could see that this was the bathroom. Across the hall from the Tubbo’s room was, according to the process of elimination, Phil's bedroom.

Tommy ventured down the stairs trying his damned hardest to stop them from squeaking. It half-worked. He found that if he was light enough on some of the stairs they would make no noise. Some made way too much noise. He’d have to figure out which stairs made noise later. At the bottom of the stairs there were a few doors. Tommy decided that he’d made too much noise going down the stairs to be able to snoop without suspicion. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going but there was light seeping through one of the doors and he could hear voices so that seemed like a good place to go.

He stepped through the door and was met with a surprisingly welcoming sight. It seemed that no one had noticed Tommy entered. Wilbur and Tubbo and Wilbur were having a friendly looking conversation across the table while Techno and Phil were putting some kind of meat? And plants? On a plate? Tommy didn't really know what it was but he hadn’t eaten anything fulfilling in a while and his stomach was rumbling just looking at it. He was surprised he wasn't drooling.

He was just about to take another step into the room when Tubbo noticed him.

“Oh...hey Tommy!” Tubbo exclaimed with a wave.

“Ah...there you are Tommy! Sit down and techno and I’ll bring over the food” Phil said motioning to the chair next to Tubbo. 

Tommy walked over to a smiling Tubbo and pulled the chair out. How the fuck do you sit in a chair? Tommy sure didn’t know. He decided just to copy Tubbo and Wilbur. It was pretty fucking uncomfortable. Why would anyone choose to sit this stiff? Better than being stuck in the bed with his leg stuck up he supposed. There was no way he would be able to stay like this for long. He could barely sit still anyway.

After a few moments of bustling in the kitchen, Phil and Techno brought over the food. Phil and Techno placed the plates in front of everyone and Tommy noted that Tubbo and Wilbur had slightly different meals. They had plates of just the plants? And some different green stuff. Tommy didn't know why you would choose that over the delicious meat in front of him but who knows. 

“Tommy I gave you some extra steak and cabbage because I’m sure you're super hungry.” Phil said, sitting down at the head of the table. 

Tommy noted that although he was a guest the chair he sat in didn't seem out of place. To his left was Tubbo; straight across from him was Techno. He was in the same chair as the rest of them and it fit round the table like it was meant to be there. Tommy wondered if they had guests often. He would probably have to leave soon. He didn't want to intrude on their lives especially if people needed help more than he did. 

By the time Tommy had finished scanning his surroundings everyone had already started to eat. Tommy looked down and realised he had no clue how to use what was in front of him. The food was on a white circle thing. Tommy could not remember what it was called. On one side there was a knife. Tommy definitely knew what a knife was. On the other side was a forn? He wasn't sure if that was the right word. He had to scour his brain hard and it was a little exhausting. He should probably actually start eating. He looked to his right to see how Tubbo was doing and copied the example. Tommy picked up the knife and fork and stabbed some of the cabbage and placed it in his mouth. He made a loud noise as his teeth hit the fork which caused the table to look up but Tommy ignored them and tried to play it off. Tommy was surprised at how good this cabbage tasted. He had stolen something that looked similar from the back of someone's garden and it definitely did not taste this fucking good. It was mouth-wateringly good in Tommy's eyes. He managed to eat all the cabbage and other miscellaneous vegetables on his plate very quickly. The real problem was the steak. Tommy saw that the others were using both utensils to eat the steak and that just confused him even more. He really didn't understand why they didn’t just use their hands. It was so much easier. He was debating on just ignoring the others and ripping it apart himself but he didn't want to seem ungrateful to Phil for letting him use his things. He also really didn't want to be stared at. Tommy picked up both utensils. He really did not know what he was doing.

Tubbo upon noticing Tommy’s confused expression nudged Tommy in the ribs. Tommy turned his head and gave Tubbo a glare. Tubbo lifted his own knife and fork in front of him and swapped the hands. Tommy, slightly confused, did as the smaller boy showed, grateful for any help. Tubbo then slowly, making sure Tommy was watching, demonstrated how to cut and eat the steak. He followed what the boy was doing and found it was easier than anticipated. It was annoying but not necessarily difficult. 

The steak was delicious. Tommy found it was much more tasteful than the vegetables. Tommy was halfway through his steak when he realised he should probably say thank you to Tubbo. He didn't want to break the peaceful silence they were in so he took some of Tubbo’s’ advice and nudged the boy. Tubbo turned his head in surprise. Tommy mouthed a thank you and smiled at the boy. Tubbo beamed back at him and turned back around to finish his food. He really did like Tubbo. He doubted the other boys would have helped him without relentlessly teasing him. At least that's what Tommy had learnt when he was on the streets. He finished pretty quickly and desperately wanted to ask for more. 

Just as they were all finishing Wilbur stood up from the table pushing his chair back.

“Oh my fucking god...SNOW” Wilbur exclaimed pointing out the window. 

The family gasped and Tubbo, Wilbur and Phil rushed over to the small window to look outside. While they were eating a pretty heavy layer of snow had set all over the town. Evidently, the snow had calmed down but it was still snowing lightly. Tommy did not understand their fascination with snow. It was cold and wet and hard to move through. The slightest movement and you were buried in snow that had fallen from the trees. That was not fucking fun especially since it got dark early and you had to be even more careful. 

“Ooh! Dad! Dad! Can i go out in the snow pleaseeeeee” Wilbur begged tugging on his father’s cape. 

“I don't know Wilbur…” Phil fretted with a look of pity

“Pleasee Dad Its still light out I’ll hide my wings I bet Tommy’s never made a snowman!” Wilbur whined “Tell him tommy!”

“Yeah...I’ve never made a snow man or whatever snows fucking awful” Tommy stated giving everyone a sceptical look.

“Okay...even I like the snow and I can't go in it. You have got to let them out!” Tubbo remarked, giving a pleading look to his father.

“I mean I like the snow and I don't like many things so this needs fixing” Techno muttered chucking a coat towards Wilbur.

“Fine...fine Wilbur you know how to cover up, Tubbo can you grab a few of my old coats and Techno can you grab one of your spare masks” 

Tubbo and techno scurried off grabbing the various items. Tommy was still bloody confused. Snow was fucking awful. And what on earth is a ‘snow man’? Snow is dangerous and annoying. Tommy did not want to go outside. He really didn't want to but Tubbo wanted him too and Tubbo was trustworthy. 

He watched as Wilbur tucked his wings in. It didn’t look very comfortable. Tommy thought Wilbur fine though. The family could tell Wilbur was uncomfortable but the giddy smile on his face hid that from Tommy. 

Tommy hadn’t hidden his tail for almost 5 years now and even before that his tail was still pretty small and easier to hide under just a short coat or in his trousers if he had too. This was really not gonna be fun but he didn't want to put the family in any danger.

Once everyone was back Phil started to fuss over tommy.

“It’s cold out and you're still injured so you're wearing layers whether you like it or not if you can keep your tail still a long coat should hide it… We’ll give you a mask but because your fangs are concealed in your mouth you don’t have to wear it unless people come near I’d prefer if you did wear it the entire time but I’m not gonna force you. That should hide everything” Phil fussed; helping tommy into the coats. 

“Umm...quick question...why do i have to hide my fangs? Everyone has them right?” Tommy asked, slipping his arm into the final coat. 

“Not everyone has fangs Tommy, most people don't” Phil answered, handing him the mask. 

Well, that was new information. Tommy had learnt a lot of new information recently so it wasn't exactly surprising but still that was one of the things that Tommy had thought was true for years. The few days he had spent here (although he had only been awake for one) were all a little overwhelming. It was okay though. He had clean food, water and shelter if only for a few more days. He would leave soon. Did he even want to leave? That was a question for later. For now he had to worry about not making a fool of himself in the snow. 

“Alright then...you guys should be good, Tommy remember to not move your tail too much and don’t be out too late!” Phil announced yanking open the back door “Off you go!”

Wilbur jumped straight out of the door and into the snow. Tommy was a lot more hesitant and tentatively walked to the door. He was probably the warmest he had ever been in the winter and really didn't want to step outside in the cold. Did he really have to do this? Surely he could just go back upstairs? He wasn't scared of the snow. He’d just had bad experiences. Okay maybe he was a little scared of the snow but he didn't have to admit that. 

“Oh go on Tommy! There's nothing to be scared of!” Tubbo reassured putting his hand on Tommy's shoulder. 

Tommy's head turned round to see what was on his shoulder. He wasn't used to being touched with good intent but he found it strangely comforting. Tommy trusted Tubbo after all. He didn't want to upset him.

“Yeah come on Tommy! You scaredy-cat!” Wilbur shouted from the bottom of the garden.

That got on Tommy’s nerves. He was not scared. Definitely not.

“You Motherfucker! I am not scared!” Tommy shouted back running full force at Wilbur into the snow.

When Tommy got to Wilbur he jumped, as best he could in this bloody snow, and pushed him onto the ground. Wilbur let out a laugh and pushed Tommy over onto his back. He grabbed a bunch of snow and shoved it in Tommy’s face. That pissed Tommy off. He kicked Wilbur in the stomach and got on top again. Tommy grabbed even more snow and shoved it in Wilbur’s face. Wilbur was not expecting that. They kept up like this flipping round, shoving snow in each other's face and laughing but Tommy always had an advantage. He had the high ground and he had better fighting experience. But there was one thing Tommy didn’t have on his side. Tommy was definitely tall but he was skinny and light. Easy to pick up. With all his might Wilbur pushed Tommy off him and slid up onto his feet. Tommy was immediately ready to pounce and as he jumped Wilbur grabbed under his arms and lifted him up in the air. Tommy was to say the least very surprised. There was a brief moment of hesitation before he started thrashing about trying to loosen Wilbur’s grip. After a small amount of thrashing Tommy realised his tail was sticking up and probably visible so he calmed down and Wilbur let go of him, both of them laughing at what just happened. 

Tommy didn't mean to pounce on him. It was done on instinct. You could never let anyone make fun of you where Tommy had lived. That was just an opening for them to kill you or beat you up. As much as he was surprised at himself he was even more surprised when Wilbur started fighting back. Especially when Wilbur started laughing. Tommy definitely wasn't fighting as hard as he can, he didn't take Wilbur as a fighter. Apparently that was wrong. The fighting was mostly in good nature after Tommy realised Wilbur wasn't actually threatening him. 

They had a pretty good time after that. Wilbur taught Tommy how to build a snowman and although Tommy didn't really like touching the snow with he was content at just watching and occasionally helping shape the snow. It was nice though. Chatting with Wilbur and laughing at snide remarks thrown between the two. Originally, Tommy was only out here for Tubbo but he found that hanging out with Wilbur was just as enjoyable. They were having so much fun they hadn't even realised it had got dark.

“Boys! BOYS! It's dark out! Get inside!” Phil shouted, grabbing the twos attention from where they were lying in the snow.

“Coming...coming” They both muttered clambering over towards the door. 

Later that night, Tommy was back in the bed staring at the ceiling. Phil had brought him some of Wilbur’s pyjamas and wished him a good night. The pyjamas were comfy. Soft. Tommy didn't know how to feel. The family had given him a full warm meal (with extra food), clean water , clean washed clothes , an entire room to himself, almost fully healed his injuries and didn't seem in any hurry for him to leave. Tommy didn't understand. Why were they so nice? Tommy was intruding in their home; he had sworn at them and literally tried to fight one of them. Why didn't they kick him out? They had treated him with nothing but hospitality and...Kindness? Is this what kindness is? Tommy wasn't one to know. It made him feel warm and happy. Genuinely happy. That was the first time in a while. It never lasted though. As soon as Tommy realised he was happy thoughts of back-stabbing and leaving filled his head. He knew he would have to leave. Eventually. He knew it would be so easy for the family to kill him or abandon him. And honestly the thoughts filled him with dread. Being sat alone in the middle of the night really didn't help and his eyes started to prickle. 

No. No. He could not cry. Not right now.

He needed to move. Find something to do. Anything just to move his hands or legs. Something. He stood up and looked around. He hadn’t had a proper look at the objects on the shelves. He should be able to take a look without making any noise. He moved over there and started to look about. There were a few bottles labelled with long words Tommy definitely couldn't read. One bottle seemed to be full of plasters, another bandages. The others seemed to be full of liquids. Who knows what the fuck was in them? Tommy didn't think he wanted to know. On the right seemed to be 3red books. Tommy leaned forward trying to get a better look. T-h-e a-r-t o-f w-a-r. The art of War. Tommy’s reading skills were absolute shit and he had no idea what the hell that said. They all seemed to say the same thing. Why would you have 3 of the same thing? Tommy was curious though and he slid one of the books off the shelf. This was a bad idea. Tommy hadn't realised that when you grab a book from the sides and don't grab the back cover it is going to swing open. And when this happened Tommy’s tail straightened and he instinctively dropped the book. _Bang._ Tommy muttered a curse under his breath. Why did he drop it? It had been in his room the entire time it wasn’t gonna hurt him. Now he's gonna have woken up the entire house and they're gonna be mad and they're gonna kick him out and he's gonna have nowhere to go. And- and- and- Tommy was starting to panic now. He really didn't want to leave. Not right now. 

“Tommy?” Wilbur whispered; opening the door slowly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I didn't mean to drop it! Sorry I woke you!” Tommy rambled walking back to his bed. 

“Tommy! Tommy it’s fine. You didn't even wake me up. I’m guessing you couldn't sleep either?” Wilbur asked, moving over to him.

“Uh...yeah. Just worrying and shit” Tommy mumbled crossing his arms in an attempt not to look weak. 

“You wanna talk about it?” 

“No”

“Okay. If you can't sleep I can sing you something. A lullaby maybe?”

“I’m not a fucking baby”

“Well obviously… i used to sing it to Techno only a few years back and i still sing it to Tubbo when he's having a rough night. It’ll help! I promise!” 

“Fine. fine. Only cus Tubbo likes it. Do not tell the others!”

“Okay Tommy” 

Wilbur threw the covers over Tommy and started to hum. 

“ _I heard there was a special place…”_

Huh. His voice was nice. And comforting.

“ _Where men could go and emancipate…”_

Tommy’s eyes started to droop. Wilbur’s singing really did help.

“ _The brutality and tyranny of their rulers…”_

Tommy yawned and closed his eyes. He felt so comfortable. Should probably say thanks to Wilbur.

“ _This place is real…”_

Tommy heard no more. He slipped into a blissful sleep. Warm, well fed and cosy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is fucking 3.7k words holy shit.
> 
> I don't really like most of this chapter but uno hope you enjoy.
> 
> im doing techno/tommy moments next chapter :) /p 
> 
> I wrote this entirely while listening to Roadtrip.
> 
> also also the new modded smp?? very fun very fun.
> 
> also those of you that comment on all the chapters. I see you. thank you. 
> 
> (also if you just comment emojis or somehting similar i have horrible anxiety and dont know how to reply so i just wont sorry im trying to reply to them all)


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